


Veritaserum, a story in drabbles

by Stasia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabbles, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-02
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2018-01-07 03:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1115104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stasia/pseuds/Stasia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veritaserum is more dangerous than you think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Veritaserum, a story in drabbles

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in 2007 for a drabble community on Livejournal. The prompt was Veritaserum, and I managed this whole story, in drabbles. 
> 
> It was written a few months before the Deathly Hallows came out, so there are variations from canon.

VERITASERUM

**Surrender**

The bitter taste of the Veritaserum coated the back of his throat. He couldn’t do anything now; it was out of his hands. As he felt the potion take effect, its soft talons biting into his mind, he fixed his eyes on the one thing he couldn’t—wouldn’t—lose. 

***

Across the room, Remus sagged in the straps holding him to the wall. He watched, filled with horror, as their only hope, the only person they had who could let them know what was going to happen, opened himself to Voldemort’s probing. He didn’t want to be the reason this happened. 

**Devastation**

Severus knew that people only saw what they wanted to. He allowed access to his mind, his soul; feeling the layers peel back one by one, he hid his triumph as the important memories dissipated like mist in the heat of Voldemort’s regard. After, he lay, cast aside, a chuckling heap on the floor. As the Death Eaters followed their Master from the room, they kicked him; he ended staring at the ceiling.

Once the last of them was gone, he struggled to his feet. Lupin was still in the room. 

To his dismay, Lupin’s face was covered in tears. 

**Connection**

Moving as quickly as the artificial relaxation would allow, he released Lupin, then lowered him gently to the floor.

“You shouldn’t—“ Lupin gasped, his breathing wet and laboured. “Not for me.” 

Severus knelt down carefully—not sure he’d be able to get up again. It was worth it to feel Lupin next to him. The terrible room receded; all he felt was the touch he’d never had the courage to reach for. He wrapped his cloak around them both, wishing he had his wand, wishing he had his potions, wishing… just wishing.

“I do everything for you,” he whispered.

**Discovery**

They were found hours later; Severus wrapped tightly around Remus’ battered form. Hermione’s face dripped tears as she Mobilicorpus’ed them both together, moving slowly and carefully. Behind her, Kingsley checked every corner of the room, coming back with a handful of wands, two only half-moldy cloaks and a small clear vial with no stopper. 

“Do you think they’re—“ whispered Hermione and Kingsley shrugged. 

“No idea, but if this is what I think it was,” he waved the vial, “then they might not make it no matter what.”

Hermione’s eyebrows kinked curiously.

“Veritaserum antagonist is notoriously deadly,” he said quietly. 

**Confusion**

Remus blinked at the whiteness surrounding him. He couldn’t remember… there had been something about lies and he remembered being beaten, but what else…? There was something important, but it was just out of reach.

Slowly he tipped his head to the side, and the whiteness shifted, becoming St Mungo’s ceiling and walls. Why was he alone? He’d been with someone, there’d been someone holding him. 

He closed his eyes, hoping that he’d remember more if it were less … white. He remembered Voldemort’s voice and someone was doing something … something brave and oh so horrible and …

“Severus.” 

**Awakening**

The smell told Severus where he was. No matter how many air-freshening charms were used, hospitals and infirmaries always smelled the same. He kept his eyes closed, gathering as much information as possible before revealing the fact that he was awake. 

Unfortunately, there were no sounds at all, forcing him to open his eyes. 

Lupin slept in the chair next his bed, his grey hair falling forward over his face. The blanket had slipped off his shoulder. He looked as much as he could, knowing that he’d soon be taken to Azkaban. It was worth it, though, to have saved Lupin. 

**Attempts**

“He saved me.” Remus knew that he couldn’t hope to convince Harry that Severus shouldn’t be sent to Azkaban, but he had to try. It wasn’t fair that this man, who had saved his life, should soon have his own taken.

“Remus,” Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper, “I know you think so, but there’s no way he could have taken enough of the antagonist to keep from spilling everything and still be alive now. It’s a fatal poison.” 

Remus stared down at his tightly laced fingers. “I’ll swear it under Veritaserum,” he said. He had to try. 

**Dismay**

“You say he saved you.” Slow.

Remus blinked, but his vision didn’t clear. He’d no idea the Veritaserum would make everything so blurry. He could hear the voice speaking to him, but there was no question.

“Why did you say that?” Exasperated.

He felt the compulsion to answer rising.

“Because it’s true.” 

“What did he do?” Brisk, now.

“He told them things. He saved me. He made them stop.”

“What things did he tell them?” Very interested.

Remus began to struggle. They hadn’t agreed to this so he could save him. They wanted him to repay Severus’ rescue with betrayal. 

**Betrayal**

The questioning continued over hours and three successive re-dosings. Remus struggled to refuse to answer, but his mind and voice seemed to be outside himself, under someone else’s control. He wept tears of defeat and self-disgust as he spoke and spoke and spoke.

He saw Harry turn away and knew that he’d never survive this. Harry, his last hope for honour, for Severus, couldn’t even bear to look at him. Finally the questioner fell silent. Remus shivered in his chair, the ropes forgotten.

Harry pushed Severus into the room at wand point. Remus bowed his head. His betrayal was complete.

**Distortion**

Remus could barely see. The fog in the room shifted and swirled, obscuring everything except flashes of faces and the dark of Severus’ robes. He heard voices arguing, sharp and rough. He was worried that the ropes were going to change to snakes and eat him. It would probably be a better thing, though, if they did. That way he wouldn’t have to try to find a way to do it himself.

He shook his head, but the fog didn’t go away. He felt hands on him, fingers on his chin. He looked into dark eyes.

“What have you done?” 

**Fury**

Severus stood and glared at Potter. “What have you _done?_ ” 

Potter shifted on his feet, his face growing dark. “He asked to be questioned under Veritaserum. Said that you’d saved him.”

“Don’t you know what Veritaserum does to werewolves, Potter?” He turned on the interrogator, who’d pressed herself up against the wall. “You do, I can tell. How many doses did you force on him before he started to talk?”

She shook her head and Severus pressed on. “More than five? Did anyone stop to think that this questioning could very well kill him?”

Potter’s horrified face told Severus everything. 

**Hopeless**

Harry stood in the corridor outside the Spell Damage ward. It couldn’t be true, that Veritaserum could hurt werewolves. Snape had to be lying. But… the interrogator had known it also. Why had she allowed it to go on, if she’d known what it would do? His face darkened as he made sure he remembered her name. 

He peeked through the glass of the door into the small room. Snape sat next Remus’ bed; he was leaning forward, his mouth moving as if he were speaking. Harry slid an Extendible Ear under the door.

“— promise we’ll visit the beach…” 

**Waiting**

Severus ran a hand along Lupin’s arm. He’d been forced, by Potter, of all people, to bath and sleep, but he couldn’t stay away. Potter had assured him that the bitch of an interrogator, and whoever else had perpetrated that farce, would get punished. He didn’t have time to see himself that it was done, but Potter had looked appropriately angry—and the anger of The Man Who Saved would go farther than his own.

Now, if only Lupin would wake up. He’d tried talking to the man, and couldn’t stop touching him, but nothing helped. He feared nothing would.

**Intermission I**

Remus stretched, comfortable for the first time in years. He pulled in a deep breath, surprised that his lungs didn’t catch. He’d had to be careful when he breathed ever since the muggles had set fire to the woods around Greyback’s hideout. Puzzled, he opened his eyes.

He was in a large, comfortable bed, in a brightly lit, unfamiliar room. Clean, new clothes lay on a chair next the bed, and a tray of food rested on a small table nearby.

Just as he saw it, the door opened, swinging wide and admitting someone he thought he’d never see again. 

**Talking**

Severus had a second bed moved into the room. He never went anywhere else, so Lupin’s healer relented. Potter visited, often with his two annoying friends, but at least he no longer tried to have him removed. 

Severus spent his time talking about himself, something he’d never done before. He told the unconscious Lupin everything; his father’s delight in his early magic, the way closing the mill changed everything at home, how hard he’d worked to fit in at Hogwarts… 

He started writing it down when the healer said she thought it might be good for other half-bloods to hear. 

**Intermission II**

Remus fell back into the chair. He knew something had gone terribly wrong.

“You’re dead.”

Sirius crossed his arms and nodded. “You never miss a trick.” He came forward and stole a piece of toast. “I thought you’d want a welcoming party.”

Remus closed his mouth. “Welcoming party? You mean that…” He looked around the room, reached out and ran his fingers through the heavy fringe on the draperies of the bed. “I’m…er, dead as well?”

Sirius nodded, his mouth full of toast. “You didn’t know? It can be a surprise.”

Remus’ brow knotted. “I was doing something… something important.”

**Lonely**

Severus wasn’t surprised that he was the only one who continued visiting on a regular basis. Lupin’s room was lonely, it seemed, to everyone but him. He found himself content to simply be near the other man, whether or not Lupin ever woke. Severus had all but moved into the room. It seemed to him the healers and mediwizards and witches had given up; he only saw them once or twice a day.

Severus fought despair every day, but Voldemort was dead and everyone else seemed to be getting what they wanted most, so he hoped he could as well.

**Information**

Remus was barely breathing, and he never moved. Harry stood outside the door and watched Severus care for him; he’d never seen his evil Potions Master so gentle or so caring. With a deep sigh, and a sense that he was intruding onto something private, he pushed the door open. 

“I found why she did it.” Severus looked away from Remus, his eyes dark. 

“Who?” His voice was rusty and Harry wondered how long he’d gone without anyone talking to him.

“The interrogator. She’d been told by the Under-Minister to see if she could find out what you were doing.”

**Intermission III**

Remus laughed at Sirius’ joke and leaned back in his chair. “I missed you, Pads.”

Sirius grinned back, reminding Remus of the lost days of their youth. “I missed you, too. I can’t wait until you’re all the way here. We can go and—“

“What? What do you mean? I thought you said that I was… am dead.” Remus half-stood, a feeling of foreboding washing over him. 

Sirius wouldn’t look at him. “It’s not for long.” He started to stack the toast and Remus was struck by the fact that nothing in the room had changed since he’d woken. 

**Detente**

Harry took two steps back from Snape. His face had changed from tired to vicious so quickly that Harry was surprised the air itself hadn’t caught fire. 

“She did this… _which_ Under-Minister?” The glasses on the bedside table rattled.

Harry’s mouth twisted. “You’re too late, Snape. I took care of it.” To his surprise, Snape nodded sharply and sat back down.

“You’d better have.” He sighed. “Are you here for anything else, Potter?”

Harry leaned against the bed. “Just to visit, really. You’re alone here, and…”

“I’m not alone, not here.” Snape slipped Remus’ hand into his and smiled softly. 

**Intermission IV**

Remus hunted around the walls, looking for a way out. He tried the door, but it wouldn’t open. 

Sirius said, “There’s only one way through there, mate.” He ate another piece of toast and Remus’ temper began to flare. Why was everything here so unchanging? Why wouldn’t it let him go?

“Sirius,” he said, “tell me how to get out. I want to go back. There was something I was doing…”

“I don’t want to,” Sirius responded sulkily.

“Why not? I’ll come back here eventually, won’t I?”

“You won’t be mine anymore.”

Remus’ temper, usually under fierce control, burst forth.

**Separation**

It took Harry a week, but he finally got Snape to leave Remus alone for a whole day. He had hopes to work Snape up to a week together – it wasn’t healthy for him to stay cooped up for so long.

The interrogator’s trial was the second day Snape left Remus; he attended with a malicious glee that Harry understood perfectly. They weren’t the only ones in the audience horrified by the witch’s hatred for both Snape and of werewolves, but they were among the few who were aware that sentencing her to death by Veritaserum was simply poetic justice.

**End Intermission**

“I never was yours,” Remus roared, advancing on Sirius. “I never belonged to you, or to James or to anyone. I am neither a dog to be owned or a living toy to be played with!”

Sirius shrank back, hands outstretched. “I only wanted…”

“I know, Sirius, but you can’t. There’s something I have to do, someone I’m supposed to be meeting.” He saw that the corners of the room were glowing. “I have to…“ He turned to Sirius.

“I miss you, but you’re dead. I’m going back, Sirius, back to …” a bolt of pain shot through him. 

“SEVERUS!!” 

**Changes**

Severus sighed and set down the book he’d been reading from. “Remus. I don’t know what to do. You’re not dead, and yet…” He rubbed his hands together, nervously lacing and unlacing his fingers. “Perhaps Potter is right and I should spend more time outside. I wish… I wish I thought you could hear me, wherever you are.”

He stood and walked slowly to the door. There was a soft rustling sound behind him and he hunched his shoulders. 

“I’m so sorry I didn’t get here fast enough…” He leaned his head against the cool glass in the door.

“Severus?”

**Recovery**

Severus spun so fast he slipped. “Remus?” He ran to the bed and saw Lupin looking up at him, eyes glowing. 

“Not Sirius’,” Lupin whispered. “Never. Only yours.” He blinked slowly, then struggled to move in the bed.

Severus, confused by the suddenness of the recovery and the words he’d never thought to actually hear, sat down heavily. “Mine?” he whispered. “I don’t.. I mean…” he reached out tentatively, all his need for touch, for connection stifled by the reality of Lupin’s eyes. What if he’d been wrong and Lupin didn’t feel the way he did?

“Do you love me, Severus?” 

**Declaration**

Severus shifted in his seat, all his old fears rising to the surface of his mind. What if he answered and Lupin laughed? He looked into Lupin’s face and felt chilled at the compassion there.

“Because I love you,” Lupin said, as if saying it were the easiest thing in the world. “I want to know you, to spend time with you. You saved me, and I don’t even know why.”

“You’re an old… friend and…” Severus tried to think of a way to say this without saying anything incriminating.

Remus’ laugh sounded pained. “You were more honest under Veritaserum.”

**Return**

“Don’t say that word. Don’t even think about that potion,” Severus snapped. “Veritaserum is the reason we’re here and I never want to see or hear of it again.”

Remus’ brows lifted and he began to smile. “Really? Why not? I’m sure you can brew something to counteract its effects.”

“I couldn’t.” Severus sagged in his seat. “I tried, I did. You were dying, and I couldn’t do anything.” He thrust his hands under Remus’ nose and shook them. “What good are these hands, these fingers, if there’s nothing they can do to stop the man I love from dying?” 

**Happiness**

Remus’ smile lit the room, making Severus stop and realise what he’d said. He flushed.

“I mean, what good are they if—“

“I told you,” Remus said, sounding happy and tired, “I love you too. Now stop worrying. You have to figure out how to get me out of here so we can find out where we’re going to live.”

“Live?” Severus was aghast. Remus wanted to live with him?

“Well, I certainly didn’t fight my way back here to watch you from afar,” Remus mumbled into his pillow. “Will you worry if I sleep, now? Only I’m tired.” 

**Endings**

Remus tugged on Severus’ hand. “Come into the bed?” He smiled sleepily up at Severus’ shocked face. “It’ll help me get better, I can tell.”

Severus shook his head, but crawled gently into the bed, tucking the blankets carefully around Remus’ shoulder and waiting until he’d arranged himself as comfortably on Severus as he could. 

“You think this will help?”

Severus could feel Remus smile into his collarbone. “It’s helping already. I feel so much stronger with you in bed with me.”

When Harry came, he saw them curled up together. Remus smiled, and Hary turned away, hiding his tears. 

**Epilogue**

Harry leaned back and loosened his belt. “That’s the best lamb curry I’ve ever had, Professor,” he said happily. Across the table, Severus wiped his plate with the last of the rolls. At the head of the table, Remus chuckled.

“I did learn something when I was travelling about, you know.” He shifted, and Harry knew he was propping his legs on Severus’ lap under the table. “Including more than just lamb curry.” Harry grinned at Severus’ sudden flush.

“Thanks for staying,” he said suddenly, looking at Severus. “Thank you for staying and for making my last parent so happy.” 

**Epilogue, private**

That night, in bed after a long display of the things he’d learned while travelling, Remus lay with his head pillowed on Severus’ shoulder. 

“Harry’s right. You’ve made me very happy.” He slid an arm around Severus still too-thin waist. “Thank you.”

Severus chuckled, his deep voice sending thrills down Remus’ back. “You’ve nothing to thank me for. All I did was strive to save the only thing in my life worth anything at all. I should be thanking you.”

“Mmm,” Remus said, snuggling in closer, “let’s call it even, then.” 

Severus grasped his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Let’s.”


End file.
